Commission pledges cash to help refugees in Greece

The European Commission will provide €700 million in assistance over the next three years to help refugees in Greece and the rest of the Western Balkans, the commissioner in charge of humanitarian aid, Christos Stylianides, said Wednesday.

The aid will be available immediately and is aimed at providing “basic necessities” to the tens of thousands of people in need of shelter in countries such as Greece, where thousands more refugees are arriving every day, many fleeing the war in Syria.

“We must be prepared, and preserve the dignity of those in need,” said Stylianides.

“This fund will provide emergency assistance for refugees in Greece, in addition to existing funds for hotspots,” said the commissioner, referring to the processing centers for new arrivals.

In the European Parliament, lawmakers welcomed the new financial tool for responding to the crisis, but Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, said it was “far from being a solution” on its own.

Insisting on the need for a common European approach, rather than individual responses such as Austria’s decision to cap the number of migrants it accepts, and other countries’ closure of their borders, Verhofstadt said: “The closure of the borders in certain member states is turning frontline countries like Greece into permanent refugee camps.”

“This is not only unacceptable; it goes against the European spirit,” he said.